The Wife's Revenge

THE WIFE'S REVENGE ⁴

People were living at Tiputsa (Old Cochiti, across the river). There were two sisters, a father and a mother who lived together. The elder was married and the younger was stealing her husband. The wife noticed this but she did not say anything to her husband. She thought to herself, "My sister is stealing my husband. I shall keep my eyes open and watch." One day the war chief made proclamation for a rabbit hunt, men and women. In four days they were to hunt rabbits. The women made lunches to take with them. The husband said to his wife, "Stay home and grind." So the elder sister stayed behind and the younger went on the rabbit hunt. She came way behind all the rest with her sister's husband. They met up in the north at Shiwanatse (katcina place) for the hunt. They made the first circle and hunted. Every time these two came last, after the rest.

The elder sister was worried, alone at home. She was thinking how her husband and her sister were together all day. She thought, "What shall I do? I had better go and get a little bowl and fill it with clean water." She took it into the inner room and set it in the middle of the floor. It was midday. On the hunt the people were having their dinner. She looked into the bowl and she saw the two away off from the others under a cedar tree. She saw that her husband had her sister in his lap. She began to cry and say, "What shall I do? My sister has been doing harm to me. I shall take this big basket and put it down on the floor and in the middle of the basket I shall sit." She put down the basket and started to sing--

I shall see if my husband and my sister will cry when they come back,
When they find me turned into a snake.
My heart is broken;
Because of my sister I turn into a snake.
O-O-O-O (sobs).

She turned into a spotted house snake, and that is why house snakes have tears on their cheeks.

When her husband and sister came home they spent the night without finding her. In the morning they found the great snake in the basket. She filled the whole basket. When her husband

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stepped into the inner room, the snake stretched out its neck and bit him. She killed him right there. Her sister came into the room; she stepped over her brother-in-law and the snake bit her. So she killed the two.

People went in and found her (the snake). She said, "Take me out of this house and put me somewhere where I can live always." The medicine men took her to Gaskunkutcinako (the Girl's Cave, a mile toward the mountains, where there is a picture of her). That is why we see so many of those snakes whenever we go to get sand for our pots. We take little pots out there to her for an offering.

Footnotes

115:4 Informant 3. Notes, p. 222.